The 98th Western Growers Annual Meeting at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Arizona attracted a record number of attendees, with more than 500 of the specialty crop industry’s top business leaders participating in dynamic networking events, educational breakout sessions, thought-provoking keynote speakers and Wild West-themed parties amid the beauty of the Sonoran Desert.
Meeting’s second Featured Session, Navigating the Post- Chevron Landscape: Expert Insights on Loper Bright and the Future of the Administrative State in Agriculture, gave attendees an overview of recent actions by the U.S. Supreme Court and how they might impact the regulatory landscape. During the Chair’s Lunch and Keynote, WG Chair Stuart Woolf took the reins to thank the assembled WG members, the Board of Directors, sponsors and industry VIPs for their dedication to advancing the specialty crop industry. After the remarks and luncheon, WG President and CEO Dave Puglia conducted a Q&A with Amy Trask, former CEO of the Oakland Raiders and the first female team CEO in NFL history, where she regaled listeners with tales from inside the NFL owner meetings and of working with Raiders Owner and Hall of Famer Al Davis. Award of Honor The Award of Honor Dinner Gala focused on the many achievements of Arizona’s own, The Growers Company President Sonny Rodriguez, who became the first non-grower to ever receive Western Growers’ highest honor. Mentalist Oz Pearlman rounded the evening during the reception.
Highlights from the 98th Western Growers Annual Meeting included: The first full day of the Annual Meeting featured Laura Ling as the Kickoff Keynote. Laura, an award-winning journalist, author and media executive, spoke movingly of the 140 days she spent in captivity in North Korea when she and a colleague were detained while reporting on the trafficking of women along the country’s border with China. The PAC Lunch focused on a conversation between WG President and CEO Dave Puglia and The Free Press Founder and Editor Bari Weiss, as she spoke on the current state of American journalism, where contrarian voices are deemed unpalatable and shunted aside. Featured Sessions A Featured Session on Sustainable Packaging offered a realistic, science-based look at the usage of plastics in the modern food supply chain and spoke about the regulatory pressures that stand to impact the industry. The Annual
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